Archetypal Criticism
Bell-Ringer Instructions
Get out a clean sheet and get ready
to take an impromptu quiz. I’ll give
you the title of the notes
afterwards.
What role is being played out
in each of these images?
1. What role
do I play?
2. What am I?
3. What am I?
4. What am I?
5. What am I?
6. What am I?
7. What am I?
8. What am I?
9. What am I?
10. What am I?
Answers
1. Hero
2. Villain
3. Sidekick
4. Creation
5. Tree of Life
6. The Quest
7. Revenge
8. Loss of Innocence
9. Damsel in Distress
10. Rite of Passage
What do each of them have in common?
They are all
ARCHETYPES
Archetypes are…
…an original model, mold, or prototype that
things are patterned after.
…an inherited part of the human being.
…what connects us all regardless of
geography, lifestyle, time period, class, or
gender.
3 Categories of Archetypes
• Symbolic
• Character
• Situational
Symbolic
Archetypes
• Elements & Images
• Commonly used symbols
• Usually are easily
recognizable
Examples of Symbolic Archetypes
•
Light/Darkness/Fog
•
Water/Desert
•
Fire/Ice
•
Sun/Moon
•
Wilderness/Paradise
•
Life/Death
•
Heaven/Hell (underworld)
•
The Magical Weapon
•
Supernatural Intervention
•
The Unhealable Wound
•
Tower/Castle
•
Maze/Crossroads
•
Colors (white = pure, green = fertility, red = blood)
Symbolic Archetypes from The Lion King
The unhealable
wound (scar)
The Magical
Weapon
Situational Archetypes
• Also called “plot patterns”
• Common “situations” or “experiences” that a person
has to endure to move from one place in life to the next
Examples of Situational Archetypes
• The Quest or
Journey
• The Task
• The Initiation
• The Fall and Rise
• Death and Rebirth
• The Ritual
• Nature vs. Machine
They are on a quest “to see the wonderful
Wizard of Oz.”
• The fight between
good and evil
Situational Archetypes found in The Lion King
• Simba’s Journey back home
• Simba’s Task of defeating Scar
• The Initiation
• The Fall of Mufasa and Rise of
Scar, then Simba
• Death of Mufasa and Rebirth
through his son
• The Ritual (circle of life
ceremony, king ceremony)
• The stampede was the struggle
against Nature/ Natural
forces
• The fight between good Mufasa
and evil Scar
Character Archetypes
A person or being that represents a greater ideal.
Examples of Character Archetypes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Creator
Star-Crossed Lovers
Damsel In Distress
The Scapegoat
The Devil Figure/Villain
Friendly Beast/Gentle Giant
The Hero/Heroines
Mentor/Teacher/Sage
Young man from the Provinces
The Trickster
The Side-kick
Village Idiot
The Outcast
Earth Mother
Unfaithful Wife
Temptress or Whore
Character Archetypes from The Lion King
Villain
Sidekicks
Sage or
Teacher or
Wise Old Man
Using Archetypal Criticism
1. Identify the specific symbolic, situation, or character
archetype to be discussed.
2. Define the archetype in your own words. Be sure to
include all parts of the archetype.
3. Provide a context for the film. Think of it as a brief
summary—a one-liner!
4. Provide 2 – 3 examples of how the archetype is
illustrated. Cite strong, textual evidence as your proof!
5. Conclude with a sentence that offers insight to the use
of an archetype in the movie.
Using Archetypal Criticism
1. Identify the specific symbolic, situation, or character
archetype to be discussed.
• Marty McFly, the protagonist in Steven Spielberg’s movie
Back to the Future, fits the archetype of a hero.
2. Define the archetype in your own words. Be sure to
include all parts of the archetype.
• Example: In literature and film, the archetypal hero
typically must embark on a journey and perform a specific
task that ultimately serves a greater good.
3. Provide a context for the film. Think of it as a brief
summary—a one-liner!
• As a hero, Marty’s relationship with an eccentric scientist
named Doc, thrusts him in a situation where he journeys
back in time to the year 1955.
Using Archetypal Criticism
4.
Provide 2 – 3 examples of how the archetype is illustrated. Cite
strong, textual evidence as your proof!
While there, he is tasked with make sure that his parents fall
in love in order to prevent a ripple effect that would ultimately
erase himself, his sister, and the offspring from two other
relationships. Marty also feels a great responsibility to warn Doc
about an event that will take place in 1985, a shooting a ends Doc’s
life. Throughout the movie, Marty constantly puts others before
himself, and works to help those in the past and the future.
5.
Conclude with a sentence that offers insight to the use of an
archetype in the movie.
Use of the hero archetype in this movie made Marty McFly a
sympathetic character who was easy to relate to and enabled the
audience to become invested in his quest.
Completed Paragraph
Marty McFly – Past and Future Hero
Marty McFly, the protagonist in Steven Spielberg’s movie Back to the
Future, fits the archetype of a hero. In literature and film, the archetypal hero
typically must embark on a journey and perform a specific task that ultimately
serves a greater good. As a hero, Marty’s relationship with an eccentric
scientist named Doc, thrusts him in a situation where he journeys back in time
to the year 1955. While there, he is tasked with make sure that his parents fall
in love in order to prevent a ripple effect that would ultimately erase himself,
his sister, and the offspring from two other relationships. Marty also feels a
great responsibility to warn Doc about an event that will take place in 1985, a
shooting a ends Doc’s life. Throughout the movie, Marty constantly puts
others before himself, and works to help those in the past and the future. Use
of the hero archetype in this movie made Marty McFly a sympathetic
character who was easy to relate to and enabled the audience to become
invested in his quest.
Review…
• Archetypes are universally shared ideas that
connect all of humanity.
• Archetypes can be broken into three main
groups: symbolic, character, and situational.
• Understanding archetypes helps us to
understand ourselves and all of humanity.
Assignment: Archetypes in TGC
• Identify and provide at least three of instances of
proof for 3 Character Archetypes in TGC
• Identify and provide at least three instances of
proof for 2 Symbolic Archetypes in TGC
• Identify and provide at least three instances of
proof for 1 Situational Archetypes in TGC